


An early war

by Gomdzsabbar



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fourth Shinobi War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-24 22:15:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16648850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gomdzsabbar/pseuds/Gomdzsabbar
Summary: The Uchiha massacre was the last straw. With an already weakened Konoha, Iwa feels like this is their best opportunity to take revenge on the loss they suffered during the last war. With events in motion how will our heroes survive a war that comes way too soon? Will they fall or perhaps even thrive on the bloody battlefields of the Fourth Shinobi World War?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The idea took root in my head in my head a few months ago: what would happen if losing the Uchiha Clan had bigger consequences, like starting the Fourth Shinobi War? It wouldn’t leave me so I decided to write it out. I expect this story to be quite long, since while I may have the plot written out for most of the story I don’t want to rush it.  
> Anyway this is my second story I posted and the first that at least nears to the bar I set for my writing so I appreciate any feedback regarding both the story and the grammar!

**Prologue**

The late afternoon sun cast a soft red glow on the seemingly peaceful old man in his office. Wearing red and white robes he stood near the window while looking over his village, the only sign of something wrong was the fact that his customary pipe was missing from his lips. He was Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

His seemingly tranquil watch over the village was interrupted by a ninja with dog mask appearing behind him and kneeling before the desk. Despite the figures perfectly silent arrival the Professor obviously noticed his entrance as he suddenly spoke up with his back still towards the ANBU.

"Report Inu," he said in an even yet commanding tone. A lifetime of leading shinobi on and off the battlefield perfected this skill.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. It is as we feared, with the recent Uchiha massacre Iwagakure seems to be on the move. We confirmed multiple infiltrator teams travelling through Kusa and eliminated those that attempted to breach our border," replied the man. "Also Kumo seems to be increasing border patrols as a show of force but has yet to make actual contact with us."

"I see. Make sure to write up the report by tomorrow morning. Also while on your way to HQ summon Danzo to me, I believe he is still in the tower. Dismissed!" he ordered, the shinobi disappearing from his room with a quiet "Hai, Hokage-sama".

With a sigh that seemed to be coming from the depth of his old soul he turned around and wearily sat down on the chair. He then carefully put the pipe in his mouth and with a minor application of fire chakra ignited it. In deep thoughts, he gazed around the dimly lit room his eyes automatically wandering to the pictures of the other Hokages. He lingered on the First and Second only for a short moment, then settled on the Fourth. Time passed as he kept his eyes on it, perhaps only for a minute or two, but it couldn't have been more than five when a world weary sigh left him and he tore his gaze away.

A sharp knock interrupted his contemplation and as if a switch was flipped, all traces of weariness disappeared only leaving the razor sharp eyed ninja that earned the right to call himself the God of Shinobi. A man with a cane entered without waiting for permission, they both knew after more than 50 years of friendship that there was no need for such courtesies.

"If you called for me that could only mean one thing, we were right," came the statement from the raspy voice of Danzo.

"Indeed. The Uchiha Massacre is like blood in the water and sadly we have at least two sharks who can smell it," Sarutobi answered. Silence stretched between them as both thought about how to continue. After half a minute it was the war hawk who broke it.

"We could have prevented it, Hiruzen! If we...-"

"Let's not delude ourselves. We had to hold together a village that was in shambles while preventing our enemies from invading," he said, cutting off whatever the bandaged man would have said. "We were already old and well into retirement for a while when we had to take the reins again. By the time we had the mind to notice how they took our actions that were meant to protect them from the general animosity from the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, it was already way too late."

Again silence reigned for a minute or so and when Sarutobi spoke again, it was the question that was the main point of calling his old friend.

"How long do you think we have?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"In the worst case scenario we will be at open war in two years. That is the earliest time I believe Onoki will feel he trained up the generation after the last war sufficiently to finish us off," Danzo answered without any emotion. "However I believe he will be careful so I would put it more around 3 years, perhaps if we are really lucky four."

"I don't believe in luck," snorted Sarutobi, shaking his head. "Thank you for your time, we will speak at length tomorrow at the war council."

"Anytime, old friend," with that said, the half-eyed man turned around and unhurriedly walked out of the room leaving the Professor alone once more.

Minutes passed in the blink of an eye until it was dark in the office. Just as the clock hit eight a softly spoken sentence could be heard in the room from its only occupant.

"I hoped I wouldn't have to lead another war Minato, but you just had to play the hero…" he quietly murmured to himself as he stood up and with a last look around the room he vanished, leaving only the problems in it. Perhaps the next day they would be a bit easier to bear, but in his heart he knew: with the Fourth Shinobi World War just on the horizon it would only get worse.

* * *

  _ **A week later** _

The loud maelstrom of voices was almost like a physical blow to Iruka's heavy heart as he stepped into the classroom. The chaos that welcomed him was customary and normally he would have already shouted them to silence but today he wanted to delay as much as he could, even if he knew it wouldn't change anything. Of course most of them probably won't figure out the meaning what he was going to say (save perhaps the Nara) so it was just a way for him to bask in this perceived peace a bit longer, because the moment the words left his lips he knew he wouldn't be able to delude himself any longer. With a sigh the scarred man walked to the middle of the classroom.

"SILENCE!" he roared suddenly as he used a mild genjutsu to make it seem like his head swelled to an enormous size. Just as always everyone froze for half a second, then quickly scurried to their seats. Iruka waited a few seconds longer for everyone to find their places then he started.

"Today I have an important announcement to make. For certain reasons Hokage-sama decided to lower the graduation age from twelve to ten," he said and took a deep breath to continue. "This also means that you only have two years remaining in the Academy," he finished. For a moment the class remained in a stunned silence then Naruto's shout broke it.

"Awesome! I am two years closer to becoming Hokage!" he jumped up, bearing a mile wide grin and punching the air with his right fist in celebration.

"Shut up, idiot!" came the instant reply from Kiba. This seemed to give way to the chatter as the class of eight year olds discussed the news. Iruka waited a bit for them to quit talking but as the sound kept increasing a tick mark appeared on his head.

"SILENCE!" roared the chunnin once more and the voices cut off in an instance. "It's good that you are happy because that means you will have the energy to keep up as I cram 4 years' worth of knowledge in your head in half as much time! Now let's get to it!"

His only answer was a chorus of groans but his mind barely registered it. The war still loomed on the horizon and he could only hope he could teach his class well enough for them to survive it.


	2. The start of a journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Uchiha massacre was the last straw. With an already weakened Konoha, Iwa feels like this is their best opportunity to take revenge on the loss they suffered during the last war. With events in motion how will our heroes survive a war that comes way too soon? Will they fall or perhaps even thrive on the bloody battlefields of the Fourth Shinobi World War?

**The start of a journey**

"…Next one up is… Uzumaki Naruto!" called out Iruka from the examination room.

The exam was of course nothing but a farce, Naruto already passed the physical with an above average score, the weapon test with an average and the trap making with flying colors and surprisingly he actually did adequately on the written portion. But even if he failed a few of those it wouldn't have mattered, after all the leadership wanted to start the training of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki as soon as possible. This was also the reason he was going to ask him to perform the Henge and Kawirami no Jutsu, knowing Naruto could do both.

The blonde entered lacking his usual attitude, instead only quiet determination remained in those frighteningly sharp eyes and it was so surrealistic to see him like this that the chunin almost forgot to start the exam, still he shook it off and began.

"The two jutsus we will grade you on are the Henge and the Kawirami."

"Hai, sensei."

The Henge of Iruka was quick and flawless, the Kawirami… not so much. Naruto finished his hand seals for the second technique and nothing happened. Seconds passed by and a drop of sweat travelled down the boys temple but just as Iruka was about to say something, an explosion of smoke blanketed the room. It took a few moments to clear and after dispersing a chair was revealed in the place of the Academy student.

The brown haired chunin glanced at Mizuki who simply gave back an annoyed look with a shrug as if to say _'The brat did it, didn't he? And we have to pass him anyway so get on with it.'_

"The Henge was perfect however the Kawirami was really shaky," said Iruka while scratching his scar a bit and making Naruto tense up. "Still… you did perform it successfully so congratulation! From this day you are a proud genin of Konoha!

"YEEESSS! I DID IT!" came the explosive reply and the once in a lifetime serious Naruto was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a yellow haired ball of energy and excitement.

"Come here, I will help putting it on the first time" said Iruka with a smile.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei!"

He stepped behind his former student and fastened the forehead protector.

"Now go and remember to be on time tomorrow for your team assignment."

* * *

"You shouldn't do that Naruto, our sensei is a jonin. He won't fall for it," said Sakura with a disapproving glare as the boy walked back to his seat. _'Hell yea he should do it! I hope sensei gets hit by it!'_

"C'mon Sakura-chan! The eraser trick always works besides he is like three hours late, he has it coming."

"Sasuke-kun! Tell him that he shouldn't have done it!"

"Hn," replied the Uchiha with a bored look.

The conversation was cut off by the door opening with a creak and the eraser falling… onto the ground.

"…"

"Well my first impression is: you brats will be a handful," said the jonin, giving the eraser an amused glance from just outside the room. "Meet me on the roof. You have 1 minute," he continued before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

For a moment none of them moved, stunned by their new teacher's abrupt manner, then as one they started a mad dash towards the top of the building.

* * *

"Good, you managed to make it on time," said the silver haired jonin earning three angry glares from the panting genins for his rather ironic statement. "Now before we get down to business, let us start with introductions."

"Uhm… what should we say sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Your likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies… and stuff like that."

"Hey sensei! Can you tell us about yourself first!" asked Naruto excitedly from his place on the ground.

"Hmm… alright," agreed Kakashi with a shrug from his "seat" on the railing, then after a brief pause he continued. "My likes and dislikes? I don't really feel like telling them… I never really thought about my future dreams… Hmm… Well, I got lots of hobbies~."

' _But you didn't tell us anything,'_ thought the trio as one with deadpan expressions.

"Well, with that out of the way we can start with you blondie," said the jonin.

"OKAY! I am Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen but I like Ichiraku ramen even more! Especially when Iruka-sensei buys it for me," he said with an energetic grin. "I dislike the 3 minutes instant ramen takes. My hobby is eating and comparing ramen!"

Here the blond kid paused for a moment and with resolve oozing from his words he finished his brief speech.

"My dream is to become the Hokage and make everyone acknowledge my existence!"

"Okay, pinkie is next," said Kakashi whit a nod.

"I am Haruno Sakura and what I like… I mean who I like is," she said stumbling over the words with a blush and glancing towards the Uchiha. "And my hobbies... I mean my future dreams is… Kyaaah!" she finished while hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"And your dislikes?" asked Kakashi.

"Naruto!" came the cold response without hesitation, the word staggering Naruto in a comical fashion.

"Finally you" said the jonin lazily to the Uchiha. Where the others started off with a smile, his face was showing only raw determination.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. I have many dislikes and few likes. I don't have a dream, rather an ambition. I am going to restore my clan and kill a certain person."

' _The kid is pretty intense, isn't he?'_ thought Kakashi then decided to wrap things up.

"Now that we all know each other it's time to tell you about the genin test."

"But we already passed the genin exam, sensei," said Sakura with a confused face which was mirrored by the other two.

"That is not quite true. What you passed gives you a chance to either study under a jonin or join the Genin Corps. The test we as jonin administer is meant see whether or not you are worth it for the village to sacrifice an active jonin's time to teach you," here Kakashi paused to let them feel the weight of the coming evaluation.

"We will meet at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning at Training Ground 7. Bring all your shinobi gear, also you may want to skip breakfast or you will probably throw up. That's all," finished Kakashi and before they could say anything he disappeared in a quick Shunshin, leaving only three stunned genins on the rooftop.

* * *

The first sun rays barely broke the horizon when the three met at the ungodly hour. They came ready if a bit sleepy but as time passed their focus ebbed and gave place to boredom. Naruto tried chatting with Sakura and the girl with Sasuke but in the end no conversation was struck up which led to long silent hours under the sun, only interrupted by their stomachs growling in hunger. Finally after around six hours the waiting ended as Kakashi Shunshined into the middle of the clearing.

"Hi guys," greeted the jonin with an eye-smile as he put down an alarm clock on a log. The response from the genins was almost instantaneous.

"YOU ARE LATE!" yelled Naruto and Sakura, jumping up from their seat on the ground.

"Mah, mah. Sorry for that, a black cat crossed my path so I had to come the long way," said Kakashi in a placating manner.

' _Yeeeaaah. Suuureee…'_ thought the three.

"Anyway, I am here so let's get to it. The test will be a survival exercise," said Kakashi as he brought out two bells from his pouch and dangled them front of the genins. "Your mission is to pass this exam by taking one from me and putting it beside the clock at the end of the allotted time but remember: there are only 2 bells and three of you. I don't believe I need to spell out what this means. You will have until noon to get them and just to add another incentive, those who pass will get to eat one of these delicious bentos~."

"So we just have to take one from you? That will be-" said Naruto but just as he was about to start boasting Kakashi cut him off.

"Of course not!" he said with an eye-smile. Then his visage darkened and menace started to roll off of him in waves making their blood run cold in fear.

"This is a survival exercise. You will have 5 minutes of head start in the forest, then I am going to hunt you," his dark chuckle made a deep terror well up in their mind. "Those who can't make it back to the clearing by the time the alarm sounds at noon fail even if they have a bell. Now run because the chase begins NOW!"

As one they bolted into the forest leaving only a trail of dust behind them in their hurry to get away from his killing intent. _'This is going to be so much fun~.'_

_**With Sakura** _

The moment the test began Sakura fled, fear devouring her mind wholly, the memory of the jonin's killing intent stalking her like a hungry beast. It took at least ten minutes of scurrying through the undergrowth for exhaustion to take away the edge of the terror. Finally she stopped in the middle of a small clearing, not even noticing the shallow wounds on her face and arms from the branches she ran through. After a few seconds of rest she started to hear the noises of the forest above her own heavy breathing, each little sound making her traitorous mind conjure up an image of the silver haired jonin stalking her.

Dread swelled up once more but after a few panicked glances around, her rational thoughts reasserted their dominance because she realized: Kakashi-sensei gave them a five minute head start and she ran almost the whole time so he couldn't have caught up already. Now feeling safer a relieved sigh tore itself from the pink haired genin's chest as the last slivers of fear disappeared from her mind.

"You didn't run far enough, Sakura," came the soft whisper from behind.

_**Same time with Naruto** _

A scream of utter terror echoed through the forest, lifting the hazy veil of fear from Naruto's mind as he realized whose voice he just heard.

"Sakura-chan!" he yelled and started to run towards the pink haired kunoichi's presumed location when a single quietly spoken sentence froze him in his tracks.

"You are not going to leave me all alone here in this forest, are you?" asked Kakashi from behind him, the metallic sound of a kunai being drawn from a weapon pouch following the question. "Now let's see if you can take a bell from me… of course you have to survive first."

_**Same time with Sasuke** _

Unlike the other two, the jonin's killing intent didn't make Sasuke lose his mind, after all he had already felt far worse from THAT man. Still it made the fact clear that the man was a dangerous foe so he ran into the trees determined to use the five minute head-start to get some distance and set up a few traps. He found a short and narrow opening in the trees and decided that he probably couldn't find a better place in the time he had so the Uchiha run through the middle of it, making sure to leave an obvious trail. Arriving to the other side he started setting up traps but he barely finished up a few when he heard a foot step. It was so soft that he almost missed it but feeling it was better to be safe than sorry he climbed up a tree and hid behind a thick branch.

The jonin stalked into the opening deceptively quick, his lone eye sweeping the forest while following the track. For a moment it looked like the silver haired man realized that something was up because he slowed down a bit but after a moment of hesitation he continued to the middle of the narrow clearing.

' _10 meters…6…4… just a bit more'_ thought Sasuke in anticipation as Kakashi neared the "kill-zone". _'NOW'_

With a soft ping a hail of shuriken was launched from two sides, forcing the jonin to jump forward to avoid the deadly storm however that step activated the next trap. The jonin's eye widened as he noticed the green wire he just pushed against with his shin. At least twenty shuriken shot towards him but in a show of lighting quick reflexes and supreme decision making the shinobi evaded the omnidirectional storm of death by jumping straight up.

The man may have escaped the first part of the trap of the ambush, however just as he reached the apex of his jump another soft ping could be heard as once again the wave of shurikens neared him but this time he had nowhere to run. Frantically he looked around and thankfully spotted a large rock at the end of the small stretch of grass. A millisecond before the impact he completed the Kawirami and reappeared at its former position.

' _I got him!'_ Sasuke thought grimly as the jonin materialized. The whole thing went down without a hitch so he started the final part of his plan: he activated the explosive notes he previously hid under the rock and with a sizzle his sensei exploded in a magnificent fireball.

He jumped from the trees expecting to see a heavily burnt figure in the small crater but then he heard it: a slow clapping sound.

"Well done Sasuke, you are truly a cut above the rest," the jonin slowly walked out from the tree line which made the boy spin around and grab a kunai while settling in a defensive stance. "Now that you have no more traps we can finally get to the part where you run for your life~."

"You said it, I am not like the others. I will take the bell from you and pass," replied the Uchiha as he shifted a bit forward.

"You are a bit too confident, aren't you?" and there was a blur of motion.

_Schink-Tudd._ Sasuke froze as blood trailed down from the cut on his right cheek. He didn't see anything but he knew exactly what happened: the jonin threw a kunai and he didn't even notice it.

"I will say it again, this is the part where you run for your life because I won't miss again," said the Kakashi in cheerful tone. "I will even give you five seconds of head start. 5… 4…-"

The Uchiha didn't need more motivation as he shot out of the narrow clearing as fast as he could. _'I need to regroup and shake him off. There is no way I can beat him as fast as he is.'_ A whisper in the wind made him throw himself sideways. It was not a moment too soon as a couple of shuriken embedded themselves into the tree that was previously behind him. However he wasn't the Rookie of the Year for nothing so he landed in a smooth tumble and with barely any speed lost he continued to flee.

The next few minutes tested the genin like nothing before. Every time Kakashi caught a glimpse of him the jonin threw a swarm of weapons at him with terrific accuracy, the multitude of cuts on the boy proving his accuracy. Still, he would have managed to escape without a serious injury but the few times the silver haired man managed to close in on him they engaged in furious hand to hand combat which left him with multiple heavy bruises and at least one cracked rib.

The only reason he wasn't already defeated was because every time the jonin engaged him with taijutsu he disengaged as soon as he could with a fire jutsu or a smoke bomb. Sadly he was down to the last two of those so he knew something had to change. Then suddenly he heard it: the sound of the river so he made his last gambit. Palming the last two smoke bomb he broke the tree line and threw them so they exploded above the river, creating a wide blanket of white over it then jumped into the cold water.

The swim under the water upstream was hard but he preserved because he knew the longer he could go underwater the less of a chance the jonin would have to hear him surface. He came up two time before he got to a river bend, where he slowly crawled out into the undergrowth.

It looked like his plan of swimming against the currents payed off and the jonin thought he went downstream but Sasuke knew he had to move because sooner or later Kakashi would realize that he had been duped and would come running so he once more took to forest. Like a silent shadow he ghosted forward while making sure to leave as little clues as he could about his passage. After a few minutes he slowed down and started to think about how he could get a bell from his vastly superior foe when the answer presented itself in the form of a groaning and half unconscious pile of orange.

_**With Naruto** _

The fight against Kakashi was brutal. The jonin attacked him with such speed and ferocity that the only thing he could do was block, parry and dodge but for every strike he nullified another one slipped through his guard. By the end of the minute he was battered and bruised without a chance to retaliate and because of his injuries he soon faltered, an opening the man ruthlessly exploited. The kick threw him at least ten meters through the air before a tree broke his flight, leaving him slumped to the ground with a hazy vision.

"The future Hokage… so terrified he couldn't even attack a single time before he was defeated," he heard the mocking tone of the jonin as he neared with measured steps, then with a quick chop to the neck Naruto only knew darkness.

.

.

.

A sharp pain in his side forced Naruto to wake up. With a groan he started to turn away but then with another spike of pain from his ribs he became completely alert and opened his eyes only to see Sasuke bringing his leg back for another kick.

"TEME! Why the hell are you kicking me?!"

"Shut up, dobe! Do you want Kakashi to hear us?" came the harsh whisper from the black haired boy. "You weren't waking up and I didn't have time to waste. I need you for a plan."

"What? Why should I help you?" replied Naruto while he stood up wincing slightly from his wounds.

"Kakashi-sensei beat us easily but two on one maybe we can get the bells. If we do it, we can both pass because I doubt Sakura had been able to get one."

"Hmph. Well forget it, I won't help you to take away the bell from Sakura-chan!"

"Are you listening? There are only two bells and three of us."

"I don't care! I won't make Sakura-chan fail!" said Naruto stubbornly. For a moment they stared at each other in a battle of wills, then Sasuke let out a sigh.

"Whatever. If we can find her she can help and we will decide later who will get the other bell."

"Let's go then! Her scream came from somewhere there," and without care of the noises he was making the blond genin took off into the forest leaving the Uchiha to follow him. _'Oh, Kami. Why did I wake him up?'_

It took them a bit of time but they found the girl. She was simply laying on the forest floor where she fainted after Kakashi found her. They woke her up and after listening to Sasuke she was swiftly on board of the "Maybe together we won't get beat up by Kakashi-sensei plan" as Naruto put it. Sakura was the one who asked the most crucial question when they were about to start planning.

"Uhm, Sasuke-kun. How do we find Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yea, teme?! If we don't find him we have already lost!" said Naruto.

"We won't know for sure but if he didn't find us until now that means I managed to lose him so there is a good chance he is near the clock. He knows we have to get to him if we want to pass so he will just wait there."

"…You are actually pretty smart, aren't you teme?"

"Hn."

_**With Kakashi** _

After letting the Uchiha get away and getting the memories from his two clones he decided he worked enough so he walked back to the clearing and started reading the newest edition of Icha-Icha. It was almost noon when he sensed them come so he put away the book and turned to see three Sasukes and a Sakura walk out of the trees.

"Hm? Where is blondie?" he asked.

Thankfully they didn't reply to avoid giving away which of them was real or Kakashi would have been seriously disappointed in the Academy teachers, however there wasn't much time for idle thoughts because without warning they started to run towards him. It was well coordinated. The clones were moving erratically to mask the real one and they were only a few meters away when a Sakura broke off and threw a handful of shuriken to unbalance him. Half a second later Sasuke arrived.

The two clones worked together to confuse and distract him from the original's attacks and to make it hard for him to dodge the ranged support Sakura was giving the boy. He still evaded and blocked everything they threw at him as they tried to coral him to the river bank. Finally Sakura ran out of pointy objects to throw so she created two clones and engaged to help Sasuke.

However the second she arrived and Kakashi took another step back, both originals jumped away. Midair Sasuke made 6 quick hand seals then exhaled, a huge fireball roaring forward and forcing him to jump back toward the edge of the water to avoid it.

Still in the air he looked at the genins' faces and only saw tight anticipation. A moment later it became clear why as the water behind him revealed Naruto who just jumped to take the bells from him in his airborne state. It was a well-executed plan however against a jonin of his caliber it simply wasn't enough so in a show of supreme dexterity he contorted himself midair and narrowly avoided the jinchuriki, the kid's right hand barely brushing against the bells. He landed perfectly at the edge of the water. Naruto landed too in a tumble but quickly stood up, now joined by the other two and ready fight once more.

_RIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIING!_

It was noon. The despair was visible on the three genins faces. The silver haired man slowly walked back to the clock and silenced it.

"Looks like you didn't get the bells. Really, it's a shame. Your plan was pretty good!" said Kakashi in an amused tone. Every word was like a physical blow to them so he decided to end their suffering.

"The result of this test is that all of you…" he paused in a dramatic fashion as he enjoyed the cloud of gloom looming around their heads. "PASSED! Congratulation~!"

The stunned faces looking back at him were so magnificent that he could only sigh in disappointment that he didn't bring a camera.

"Wha-? But sensei you said only those who got a bell could pass?" asked Naruto with a confused expression which was mirrored by the other two.

"Well that is not quite right. If you remember the wording, it said the mission objective was that if you three got a bell you would succeed however I never said that one bell equals to one pass. If the three of you were able to get a single one you would have completed the mission but as I am an elite jonin you never even really stood a chance of stealing a bell. Now, can you tell me what the true meaning behind the test was?" he asked, finishing his short speech.

"Uhm, always listen carefully to the mission objective?" replied hesitantly Sakura.

"While that is important, look underneath the underneath. Why is it that I passed you?"

Silence was his only answer. He waited a bit but none of them spoke up so he decided to tell them.

"The test was designed to split you up but the only way to have even a small chance to succeed was to stop thinking about yourself and work together for the success of the whole team," Kakashi said then raised four fingers up. "I have given this exam to four genin team wannabes before but you are the first group to actually work with each other. The others all tried to pass alone or made two-man alliances."

"Wait… That means if you didn't listen to me we would have failed! Take that, teme!" yelled Naruto to the Uchiha.

"…Shut up, dobe."

"What did you just say, teme?!"

"Hey! Don't shout at Sasuke-kun!" added her own two cent Sakura.

Before the situation could devolve further into petty squabbling Kakashi interrupted.

"Enough, what matters is that you did it as a team," he said and made sure all their attention was on him again. "From today we are Team 7. Now we have the most important duty of all for when a new team forms."

He paused making sure they knew the seriousness of the situation.

"It is… the celebratory lunch for forming of our squad!" he declared then continued by muttering the next few words under his breath. "But we have to find a restaurant first because I got hungry and ate all the bento."

"SENSEI! We passed so those were for us!" yelled Naruto and Sakura together.

"Stop shouting… I am treating you to lunch so lay off," said Kakashi as they started walking towards the entrance of the training ground.

' _My, my. What a lively team I got myself, still it is good they have so much energy. It means they will last longer in the tortu- I mean training sessions,'_ he chuckled as he followed the trio into the village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the first real chapter. Love it? Hate it?
> 
> I tried to portray Kakashi a bit differently. With war brewing I tried to show him as a more focused and sharper shinobi while still retaining his corepersonality. Naruto and Sakura remained largely unchanged save for the few differences them being younger and less trained made.
> 
> Sasuke was a bit different. He is a prodigy without a doubt and in the situation I am quite sure he would try to get others to help him after realizing he was outclassed. Also despite giving him a bit more "screen time" than others in this chapter, it was only because he is easily the strongest of the three at the moment.
> 
> Now as always I appreciate any constructive criticism so leave a review if you see me mess up or if you have some advice for me! I hope you enjoyed reading it.


	3. The last two months

**The last two months**

Next day the three genin arrived to the training ground a little before 5'oclock. None of them expected their sensei to arrive on time so it was quite surprising when the man appeared in a burst of smoke.

"So punctual! You guys are definitely my students," Kakashi greeted them cheerfully.

"Yea... you already showed that you are always on time," muttered Naruto under his breath while trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. In the silence of the clearing it might as well been a cannon shot but the jonin didn't even seem to notice it.

"Since you all look so energetic we will just get right into to it. Welcome to the Month of Hell!" said Kakashi with an eye-smile. Darkness seemed to seep out of him and his low chuckling was like it came straight from a B-rated villain.

"Month of Hell?" gulped Naruto. He was wide awake now.

"Indeed my precious students. You are all weak now but by the end of this month I will have you up to the standard genin level strength. If you survive it."

"Se-sensei? You are joking right? If we survive?" asked Sakura nervously while taking a step back. She remembered all too well how terrifying the jonin could be.

"Well, I got the idea from ANBU training… but I am sure you will be fine! Probably…" Kakashi trailed off with a shrug. "Anyway, let's begin with the stamina training. Its name: Run for your life so the kunai won't kill you! The path is all around the training ground. Now let's start," he finished and took out a few kunai.

"5…"

"You're joking right, sensei?" said Naruto nervously as he started inching away.

"4…"

"Se-sensei?" asked Sakura as she followed Naruto's example.

"3…"

"You aren't really gonna throw those at us?!" asked Naruto as his voice pitched an octave higher in his panic.

"2…"

"Teme, he is joking right?"

"1…"

"…We should run, dobe."

"0. _Time's up_."

* * *

_**Around 7:30** _

It was absolute hell. They spent more than two hours running around the training ground while being followed by Kakashi clones throwing kunai and shuriken at them if they ever slowed down. Still, as a sign that Kakashi was actually training them and not just enjoying their suffering, the three of them each had a clone assigned to them to make sure they all ran at their own best speed the whole time.

Thankfully after two hours, the jonin finally let them rest for 20 minutes and eat some of the food he brought them. Now that the time was up they all started to dread what the next "fun" exercise would be.

"Now that we all woke up we will be climbing trees," announced Kakashi cheerfully.

' _What..?'_ thought the three genin as one.

"You are not even going to ask what I mean?" half-asked Kakashi with mock disappointment as his hands started to slowly travel towards his kunai pouch. "Well, if you are this sleepy I guess we can go back to stami-"

This, if anything got the genins into a more talkative mood.

"He, he. No need sensei! I am super awake!" came the response in the form of Naruto's awkward and slightly panicked laugh as he jumped up and started backing away.

"Me too, Kakashi-sensei! What did you mean by tree climbing?" continued enthusiastically Sakura. A nervous twitch made its way to her face as the jonin's hand didn't stop.

"…Why are we climbing trees, sensei?" asked the Uchiha, realizing Kakashi wouldn't be happy until all three of them spoke.

"Hmm. I guess we don't need to do the warm up again. Follow me," said Kakashi. They all walked after him to the tree line, however the genin suddenly froze. Not because their sensei stopped, but because he kept walking… vertically up the tree.

"This is what I mean by tree climbing or rather: tree walking. You channel chakra into your feet and walk up, too little and you will slip, too much and you get blasted off of it," with a somersault Kakashi jumped down from the tree he walked up. "I advise you to keep a general chakra enhancement going the whole time or you won't have the strength to hold your body up as you walk up."

"Uhm, how long do we have to do this sensei?" asked Sakura while fiddling with her pink locks.

"Well for the boys, until they get to the top of the tree. For you? Guess what, until the boys get to the top of the tree. Your chakra reserves are small enough that you should be able to do this successfully, so you will keep doing it to increase those reserves. Now chop-chop, get to it and let me read my book in peace."

* * *

_**12 o'clock** _

Kakashi took in their forms with a measure of satisfaction. They were all panting from exhaustion. Sakura was swaying on her feet, she got pushed to her limits because whenever she tried to rest he chucked a shuriken at her as motivation. Not that the boys were better off, both of them were leaning heavily against the trees as they willed themselves to try again. They may have had bigger reserves but their control was nowhere near the pink haired kunoichi's so they wasted a lot more of it, leading them to this state.

"That is enough, time to rest," he said.

"Finally," groaned Naruto.

"Hn," added Sasuke in his typical fashion. Sakura didn't say anything, focusing her all on staying upright.

"Now, you have until 13:00 to eat, get a bit of rest before meeting me here. If someone is late I will assume he needs a bit of a warm up after resting too much," threatened Kakashi from his makeshift "bed" on a log before shaking his head as he stood up.

"Actually, after all the hard work I have done I deserve a bit of beauty sleep. Let's meet up at 13:30. Dismissed," he said before vanishing without a trace. Of course he didn't go far, just into the trees where he continued observing his genins.

"Maaaaan. Kakashi-sensei is a slave driver, I don't think I ever had this many bruises on my butt," complained Naruto.

"Hn," replied the Uchiha with a shrug.

"Oh come on, teme. I saw those landings, you got them too!"

"Hn."

"…Is that all you can say? You are- Whoa Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto as he jumped to catch his teammate whose legs finally gave out. "What's going on? Oi teme, help me! Something is wrong with Sakura-chan!"

"Shut up dobe, she probably just fainted," answered Sasuke as he came to help lie down the unconscientious girl. "I heard last week in class something about a diet, I think she didn't eat breakfast. Here hold put up her leg on that log and she should wake in a few seconds."

"You better be right, teme!" growled the blond kid even as he followed the instructions. He may not have liked the Uchiha but the bastard was pretty smart. They waited a bit and after about half a minute the girl groggily opened her eyes.

"Ow, ow, ow. My back," groaned Sakura as she dizzily sat up. She took in the two boys crouching beside her and asked the obvious question. "Uhm, what happened?"

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright? You fainted after sensei left! Did you hit anything? Is your back alright? Is-"

"Shut up dobe, let her breath."

"What did you just say to me?!"

"Just stop speaking and let me talk or we are never getting anywhere," growled the black haired genin and before Naruto could riposte, resumed talking. "You fainted after Kakashi-sensei told us to meet up at 13:30. Now that you are awake let's go, we already lost like 15 minutes." With that he started walking toward the village to eat.

Naruto looked at the back of the Uchiha then at the girl on the ground and offered his hand to her. "C'mon Sakura-chan. Let's go after the bastard, he is right we should get going."

"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" yelled Sakura then grudgingly continued in a softer voice as she took the helping hand. "Thanks Naruto."

The trio slowly made their way out of the training ground with Sasuke taking point, Sakura and Naruto following as the latter helped the girl who was still a bit unsteady.

' _They will make a good team. They have their differences but common suffering often forges the strongest bonds. Besides it's fun to tortu- oops, I mean train them'_ thought Kakashi while lightly chuckling at his spot on a tree branch. _'Also Danzo-sama projected the start of war within the next 6 months so they need to get stronger quickly,_ ' he added a bit morosely to his own statement, then after a final glance at his genins he left to eat as well.

* * *

_**13:30** _

Under the threat of another "warmup" all three genin arrived on time and Kakashi didn't waste minute. This time however he took time to properly teach them. He sparred with one of them alternating between fighting and carefully teaching them to fight with and without weapons. While he focused on one of them, he had the other two practice throwing shuriken and kunai while moving along different routes he set up for them.

After everyone had their turn he had them practice the Academy Three while he walked around and made sure they improved on both the speed and in the Kawirami's case the range. However as time passed he noticed that Naruto never actually did the Bunshin no Jutsu so he casually walked beside the boy.

"You seem to have the Henge down to pat, so how about you do the Bunshin a few times?"

There it was. Naruto tensed at the order phrased as a question but followed the order anyway. His hand seals were quick, even if not the most precise.

_Ram, Snake, Tiger_

For a moment nothing happened, then in a small blast of smoke three sickly looking _things_ appeared on the ground before the two of them.

"Hehe… Sorry, sensei looks like I messed it up but I will get it next try, I swear!" said Naruto while eying his sensei nervously from the corner of his eye as he started on the jutsu again.

"Wait on that a bit," said the jonin as he started thinking. ' _As expected he has a lot of chakra... but almost no control over it and by a look of it he probably needs years before he can control a delicate jutsu like the Bunshin. Now what to do…'_ he wondered, ignoring his increasingly nervous student. ' _Perhaps THAT technique would work for him, after all he is a jinchuriki. I better check with Hokage-sama.'_

"You have too much chakra and too little control. Just train with the Kawirami until I think of something for you in the place of a Bunshin."

"Yes, sensei! I will show you the best Kawirami you've seen!" perked up Naruto after he realized that Kakashi wasn't too concerned.

"Go for it."

Team 7 continued training like this until 4 o'clock, then made their way to the Hokage Tower for their first mission. Unsurprisingly Naruto tried to complain about the D-rank but a single look from Kakashi made him quickly rethink his action. They completed it a little bit under two hours so the grey haired man let them go home battered and bruised with a reminder to be there next day at five to do the same regime tomorrow.

* * *

_**And so time passed…** _

A little more than a month had passed and the genins improved leaps and bounds under the harsh regime of their new sensei. The biggest change was probably Sakura. Kakashi ended her diet by the third day and made her a meal-plan. After a month of intensive physical training the results were already visible on the girl. She also got moderately competent in taijutsu since the beginning of the training. It actually surprised the jonin but he quickly realized that Sakura had picture perfect forms; she just never had the strength or the motivation to actually train them properly in actual fighting.

The brightest point was probably her chakra control, she got tree walking almost instantly and water walking went just as fast. She was so talented that he had already started teaching her a few minor genjutsu. While Sakura was still in "love" (as much as that infatuation could be called love Kakashi amended) with the Uchiha, she was a lot more focused in training which made for a better team dynamic (although it may had to do something with the fact that whenever she went fangirl mode, Kakashi chucked the nearest kunai at her).

Naruto similarly to the pink haired girl, improved greatly. He finally managed to get water walking and was now training to fight on the top of it. Also it looked like having someone devote a large amount of their time to train the kid and clear up his basics led to the creation of an above average genin at close range. He was quick and frighteningly creative, not to mention the surprising amount of strength he possessed.

This combined with his seemingly unending stamina would have already made him a good close range fighter, however one thing pushed him from strong to scary: the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Kakashi talked with the Hokage, who after a bit of research agreed with how good of a fit the technique could be to a jinchuriki. Naruto could create around a hundred of them at once which would probably only improve with time.

He was also the heart of Team 7. With constant energy, chatter and will to improve there was never a dull moment. When he wasn't bickering with Sasuke or fawning over Sakura, he was pestering him about anything related shinobi (mostly about new jutsu… but hey, Kakashi would take what he could get).

Finally, Uchiha Sasuke. He was prodigy no doubt; in taijutsu he could almost be called chunin level even if he lacked the physical strength and experience of one. He had good instincts, good jutsu repertoire, all in all he was easily the best and most well rounded of the three. However it was his improvements as a person that were the most impressive.

In the short time they were together he emerged as a budding team leader. He wasn't too talkative but when he spoke the other two listened plans or observations, he even took it to himself to correct Naruto on a kata last week. Only dark cloud was that he was still revenge obsessed but it was probably too much to hope for that "little" issue to disappear in less than one and a half month.

Yes, they were definitely improving quickly decided Kakashi as he dodged them with a graceful somersault. The combo attack of 4 Naruto clones herding him into a fireball while Sakura tried to disorient him with a depth-perception manipulating genjutsu was something that would more than likely kill an average chunin. Especially because chunin were not fast enough to dodge it like him so they would have to substitute with the log in the clearing, which if he saw right had explosive notes planted under it (more than likely by another Naruto clone).

With a blur he disappeared and tapped the three of them on the back of their neck, signaling the end of the sparring session. "Well done. I really liked the forethought of planting explosives under the only viable substitution target in the area."

"Hehe, that was my idea," spoke up Naruto while scratching the back of his head bashfully.

"As I said: good idea but next time put it back so the moss on its side doesn't look like a bear walked over it. Now can you tell me what you could have done to stop my escape?" asked Kakashi while they all sat down on the ground for their customary review session.

"More clones!" answered Naruto excitedly. Ever since he learned the jutsu, he often decided to answer the problems with more clones. And if that didn't work? The even more clones! It was a thought process Kakashi was trying to break with moderate success.

"You could herd me perfectly with just four clones, more going against me in melee range would have just been a waste of chakra not to mention that they would have gotten in each other's way. Sasuke?"

"I could have used the Housenka no Jutsu instead of the great fireball to cover a wider area and make it harder to dodge," replied the Uchiha after a short pause.

"The idea is good but the problem with Housenka is that it has a low stopping power even if it has shuriken in it. I could just burst through it and engage on you. Sakura, any ideas?" asked Kakashi from the pink haired girl who was sitting between the two boys.

"Uhm, I think we herded you to the kill zone well and the genjutsu plus the fireball was well timed. You jumped into the air, so maybe we could have had Naruto flanking you or something?" half asked the girl while shrugging uncertainly.

"Almost perfect however there is one thing to improve on your idea. You see when you have the numerical advantage and your team has the option to set up a coordinated kill-zone, you want them to enter it and never leave it alive or without being seriously crippled," explained Kakashi before quickly drawing a small illustration into the ground with a stick of the clearing.

"Here is the clearing. You engaged me from the trees with Sakura throwing weapons and forcing me towards the Naruto clones while Sasuke was sneaking around into position. Whenever I tried to disengage Sakura threw weapons at me and Naruto meanwhile trapped the log. Than we quickly arrive to the kill-zone, Naruto clones pushing me, Sakura disorienting me with genjutsu and Sasuke throwing the killing blow that should destroy me along with the four clones," summarized Kakashi their plan.

"However Naruto was not doing anything at this point other than waiting to activate the explosive notes if I substituted. He could have easily threw a handful of kunai above and behind me to make sure I had to choose between burning alive and getting stabbed by at least five or six kunais. Neither option is all that good for someone's survival."

"Hai, sensei!" agreed Naruto enthusiastically. Sakura was also nodding along with a disturbing light in her eyes as if she was imagining the kunais hitting their sensei. _'I may have gone a bit overboard with using kunai to motivate her'_ thought Kakashi while sweat dropping.

"Anyway, onto the next scenario: I will be a travelling missing-nin and you will ambush me on this road somewhere…

* * *

_**2 weeks later** _

The whole village was abuzz after the Hokage announced the start of the war with Iwagakure. In the last two years they grew increasingly more aggressive on the borders of Kusa who in turn pleaded to their longtime ally, Konoha for help. The Leaf obviously sent troops to neutralize the intrusions against her satellite state however five days ago the skirmishes escalated when Iwa sent two battalions as an invasion force at an estimated strength of 1500 shinobi.

The shinobi of Kusa and Konoha managed to slow their advance down to almost a standstill, however reinforcements from Iwa were expected soon so it was time for the Leaf to send out their own war party of 2200 shinobi under the command of Nara Shikaku. It consisted mostly from chunins with a moderate amount of jonins under the leadership of Hyuga Hiashi, Akimichi Choza and Hatake Kakashi as sub-commanders. The Copy-cat ninja had students (although normally that wouldn't have given Konoha a pause), his genins were a bit too special to break their training in half without a thought. It was decided that he had until two days before the marching order to assess whether or not his team could follow him (obviously in a mostly safe non-combat position).

It was time for Kakashi to make the choice and he wasn't sure if he was making the right one.

His students were a bunch of 10 and 11 year olds.

His students have never killed.

His students have yet to see combat against enemy shinobi.

And yet…

They were nearing high-genin strength with just under two months of training and with their improvement rate he didn't doubt they could handle themselves as long as they weren't thrown into deep end. They weren't ready to see the war but then again, no one ever was so he decided to bring them.

Also they may have grown on him a bit… even if he would never tell them.

With a fond smile that was concealed by his mask he knocked on the open window of the Hokage office. It was done mostly as a courtesy as the man probably noticed him from a mile away but he respected the Professor so he never forgot to show it in small ways.

"…I ordered you to report five hours ago Kakashi. You are lucky I am still in the office at 8 o'clock in the evening," said the Hokage gruffly without looking up as he scanned over a logistical report.

"Oh, sorry about that Hokage-sama but I met a cute dog at the marketplace and I just had to pet him for a bit," so sue him, he respected the old man but he had a reputation to maintain. Besides he really did meet a cute puppy, which was why he was five hours late instead of four.

Sarutobi looked up from his work while simply raising an eyebrow in response and waited for Kakashi to continue speaking. As the silence started to stretch the jonin let out a sigh and decided to stop wasting his leader's time.

"I am taking them."

"So they are ready? Their growth must be exceptional," said the Hokage while stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"Yes it is. To be honest together they could probably easily take out an average chunin at the moment," replied Kakashi. Sarutobi nodded quietly along but his expression grew serious as he spoke his next few words.

"You will have to tell Naruto about the Kyubi before you leave. It will be his choice if he decides to tell to his teammates."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I am heading to his apartment after this to tell him."

"Do so."

Kakashi merely nodded in confirmation and disappeared in a smokeless body flicker. In a few minutes he reached his student's apartment and knocked on the door.

"I am coming!" came the muffled reply. A wet haired Naruto opened the door in his pajamas. "Whoa, Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" the boy said with a grin.

"Good evening. May I come in? We have something serious to speak before our deployment." said the jonin as he walked in without waiting for an answer and sat down on a chair. His severe tone wiped the customary smile off of the blonde's face as he followed his sensei's example and took a seat.

"Naruto, what do you know about the Kyubi no Yoko?"

"Uh, the Yondaime kicked its ass and killed it right?" half-asked the boy with an enthusiastic smile he always had whenever he spoke about his hero.

"That is what those under five years old at the time of the Kyubi attack were told. The Kyubi is one of the nine Biju and as such a sentient mass of malevolent chakra. The destruction caused by it on the day you were born, the tenth of October showed its power which is frankly impossible to defeat head on," explained Kakashi while looking directly into Naruto's eyes.

"Why are you telling me this sensei?" questioned Naruto quietly as a terrible feeling swelled up inside his gut.

"The Yondaime defeated the Biju however the Tailed Beasts can't be killed so he had to seal it, but no container without a chakra system can hold one so he did the only thing he could. He sealed it into a newborn child to make sure the containers chakra pathways could adapt to the strain of holding it.

He sealed in you Naruto. You are a Jinchuriki and you hold the Kyubi no Yoko," and to Naruto these words were like a death sentence.

Silence.

Naruto froze, blood left his face.

His thoughts screeched to a halt and only a single sentence kept bouncing back and forth in his head:

' _ **You hold the Kyubi no Yoko.'**_

He started shaking. Suddenly all the hateful words made sense. All the hatred from the villagers had a different weight to it.

' _We don't serve your kind here demon boy!'_

' _Go away freak!'_

' _Look at those whiskers. Shows what IT really is.'_

' _Don't go near him, he is dangerous.'_

He could hear all their words once more as a choir of malice and hatred. A teardrop threatened to fall from Naruto's eyes and only sheer willpower held it back.

It was too much.

_It was too much._

But just before the dams broke a strong arm pulled him in an awkward half hug.

Kakashi felt lost as he watched his student nearly break down. It was at times like this when the fact that he wasn't even eleven years old yet showed the most. Perhaps he should have told him more gently but he doubted it would have made a difference, so he tried to give him the small measure of comfort he could.

The boy continued shaking in his arm but he didn't cry, didn't scream. It made Kakashi respect the kid's character and willpower even more. They sat there in silence for a good ten minutes while Naruto tried to absorb the greatest revelation of his life. Finally with a great sigh his trembling stopped as he took a few slow deep breathes. Kakashi took this as his cue to let go.

After another few seconds Naruto spoke at last.

"Kakashi-sensei? What do I do now? I have the Kyubi in me… what does it do to me?" he asked in a shaky tone. Kakashi was quite proud that Naruto was starting to bounce back a bit after the initial shock of his hero sealing the beast inside him had started wearing off.

"At the moment? Nothing, to both of your questions," answered the jonin with a shrug. "Tomorrow you pack then the next day we head out like I told you in the morning."

"But a few weeks ago you told us Jinchuriki were used as weapons of war! Does this mean that I will b-"

"You are my genin," said Kakashi strongly, cutting off his student. "The fact that I told you about your status as a Jinchuriki is only relevant because I will give you a scroll about the basic information on them. I will still beat the three of you down every day. I will still make you get up before dawn to chase you around the forest. You will be always a precious member of Team 7 and no Biju can change that."

"Kakashi-sensei..." trailed off Naruto emotionally then he suddenly launched himself at the jonin and hugged him. Kakashi could only awkwardly pat his back as he thought _'At least he is not crying'_

Suddenly the waterworks began and the blonde boy started crying silently.

' _I just had to jinx it…'_ sighed mentally the jonin as he resigned himself to wait out the kid's emotional outburst. He just hoped it wouldn't last long enough to cut into his Icha-Icha time…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is. It took a while, mostly because university is hard but I finally got done with it. This chapter was hopefully able to flesh out the characters a bit and give a bit of insight on how they lived their early days as genins under Kakashi's tutelage.
> 
> Do you think I stayed mostly true to the characters? I changed them slightly to suit the setting more but I tried to keep their core characteristics as much as possible. So REVIEW and tell whether I aced or botched it!
> 
> Also, the somewhat emotional reveal about Naruto's Jinchuriki status. How did I do? I am interested if it was realistic or at least believable enough, so REVIEW! After all reviews are the lifeblood of us authors and help us improve our writing while giving motivation to continue!


End file.
